Kindergarten committee findings to be presented on Jan. 29

The committee formed by the East Meadow School district to study its current kindergarten program will conclude next month, and Board of Education President Joseph Parisi said the board will present the committee’s findings at the next communications meeting, on Jan. 29, at the Leon J. Campo Salisbury Center.

East Meadow is one of 16 school districts in the state — and one of two in Nassau County — that do not have a full-day kindergarten program, and each year, Superintendent Louis DeAngelo said, district officials analyze the possibility of widening the program. Parents, meanwhile, have often expressed their fear at school board meetings that East Meadow children may be falling behind in a half-day program, in light of the adoption of the demanding Common Core State Standards.

One of the committee’s points of emphasis is to study students’ performance since the inception of the Common Core in 2011, compared with other districts.

The committee, chaired by Cindy Munter, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, comprises two administrators, two principals, four teacher (two kindergarten and two first grade), three parents and a school psychologist, according to Parisi.

“The committee is making very good progress,” said Parisi at last week’s board of education meeting, who urged the community to attend the Jan. 29 meeting to hear the committee’s findings.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.